Be Perfect Bg may not have stayed clean as she covered the sloppy track, but her record remained unblemished as the filly moved to eight-for-eight lifetime with an authoritative victory in the $250,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes (NJSS) Platinum Division Final for three-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday, May 23 at The Meadowlands.
Dexter Dunn, who swept the NJSS Platinum Finals, took his time with the 1-9 favourite in the early stages, landing third in the field of six behind leader She Stings (Joe Bongiorno) and Sunny Station (Todd McCarthy) before brushing aggressively to the lead at the end of a :28.2 first quarter. The Perfect Sting-Jk Mardi Says filly travelled unopposed through a :56.3 half before facing a mild first-over bid from Napalm (Tim Tetrick) on the far turn. After hitting three-quarters in 1:25.3, Be Perfect Bg switched gears off the corner and unleashed a :26.3 sprint home while under wraps to prevail by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:52.1 She Stings was all out to protect second from Napalm, who levelled off in the stretch.
"The first time I sat behind her, I thought she was a special filly; she continues to show us that every day," said trainer Tony Beaton of Be Perfect Bg. "Tonight, [Dunn] said he didn't want to push her too hard in the conditions, and she overcame it. She just does everything that Dex has asked her so far."
Be Perfect Bg, three-for-three on the year following two NJSS prelim wins, has earned $325,818 lifetime for Sylvain Descheneaux's Ecurie CSL of Sorel-Tracy, Que. She paid $2.10 across the board as the overwhelming public choice.
In the $312,500 NJSS Platinum Division Final for sophomore male pacers, Dunn and 6-5 public choice Bookie J were looped three-wide by Ooglesaurus (Bongiorno) on the first turn, then pushed forward to clear for the lead just beyond a :26.4 first quarter. They immediately yieldied for a pocket ride behind fellow preliminary winner and 7-5 second choice Sonofanutcracker (Tetrick) to the :54.3 half. Midway around the far turn, Azrael Blue Chip (Andy McCarthy) mounted a first-over blitz out of mid-pack to overpower Sonofanutcracker, forcing Dunn to send Bookie J off the pegs for clear sailing to the 1:22.3 three-quarters.
Azrael Blue Chip and Bookie J sprinted clear of their seven rivals off the corner for home, with Azrael Blue Chip extending his advantage to as much as 2-1/2 lengths in upper stretch. Bookie J countered in the final eighth of a mile, and the Perfect Sting-Skyy gelding bore down on Azrael Blue Chip to collar him 30 metres from the finish and win by a neck. Thisbeestings Deo (Yannick Gingras) split rivals belatedly to take third, another five lengths behind.
"At the top of the stretch, Andy (McCarthy) got away from us, which is what he had to do," said Chris Ryder, who trains Bookie J for Kenneth Jacobs of Baldwinsville, N.Y. "I thought it was going to be a real struggle. I knew that [Bookie J] paces the stretch good. He had to do it real good to get there, and he just got up. I'm really proud of him."
After winning four of 11 races as a rookie, Bookie J has compiled a perfect four-for-four sophomore record to date, with his NJSS championship lifting his career earnings to $492,442. He has won six straight races in a streak dating back to last year.
"As a baby, I did underrate him," said Ryder. "He was always okay, but he wasn't flashy or high speed. But once we started racing him, he got better and better. I'm really more pleased with him this year than last year. We've got bigger fish to fry this year — it's going to be a tough task going into the Meadowlands Pace — but he's been winning. Tonight was a good run. I've been really pleased with him."
Now an eight-time winner in his career from 15 starts, Bookie J paid $4.40 to win.
Offspring of Perfect Sting proved best in both NJSS Silver Division championships for three-year-old pacers, with Obliterate and Sting Girl capturing their respective divisions.
Obliterate ($12.40), whom Patrick Ryder drove for trainer Chris Ryder, rode the pocket en route to a mild upset over 1-9 favourite Stingman (Dunn), lifting through the final eighth of a lifetime-best 1:51.3 mile to win the $55,556 male pace by a widening two-length margin. Perfect Sky (Scott Zeron) was third. In the $44,444 filly pace, Sting Girl ($12.80), whom Mark Herschberger drove for trainer Joe Holloway, mounted a long first-over climb out of fifth through the far turn before overpowering even-money choice Whoa Black Betty (Yannick Gingras) at the eighth pole en route to a 1-3/4-length, 1:54.1 score. Perfect And Sweet (Jason Bartlett) completed the ticket.
Per Engblom scored a training triple on the 15-race card as he won a trio of NJSS events, highlighted by a first-leg $34,722 Platinum Division for sophomore trotting fillies with Custom ($6.80). Jason Bartlett piloted the daughter of Walner-Goldy Mary Fr to a 1-3/4-length decision in 1:54.1, the fastest time of all first-round trotting contests. The Big M's leading conditioner also took a pair of Silver Division dashes with Wishuponastar Deo ($2.60) and Trillion Times ($8.20). He has a firm hold on the lead in his group with 41 wins at The Meadowlands, 13 more than second-placed Joe Bongiorno.
Madam Cheval ($4.60) took the other NJSS Platinum split for three-year-old trotting fillies. The daughter of Walner-Shake It Cerry was 1-3/4 lengths the best in 1:55.4 with Tim Tetrick aboard for Nancy Takter. Another Takter trainee, Gabes Luck ($5.20) captured the first Platinum contest for sophomore male trotters, completing his 2-1/4-length victory in 1:55. Scott Zeron had the lines of the Walner-Born Lindy colt. American Power ($3.60) completed NJSS Platinum competition as the Walner-Ariana G colt won by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:54.3 for Dunn and trainer Marcus Melander.
Yannick Gingras used a familiar tactic to perfection Saturday night, as his front-end driving excellence paid off big time while guiding both winners in the first leg of the Miss Versatility Series for trotting mares.
In the opening $41,667 split, Gingras fired Walspea, a four-year-old daughter of Walner-Speak To Me, to the top at the start from post five in the five-horse field. He rated her to fractions of :28.1, :57.1 and 1:25.2 on the way to an easy 2-1/4-length score in a lifetime-best-equalling 1:53 despite the sloppy conditions. Bravo Angel S (Jason Bartlett), the 3-5 favourite, rallied for second while never threatening the winner. Highlandstarburst (Scott Zeron) was third.
“I thought she’d be ready (for this),” said winning trainer Trond Smedshammer. “(She had) one qualifier and one start, which I was very happy with. I thought she had a very good chance off those fractions. The favourite had a lot of work to do to catch her.”
Walspea racked up her eighth lifetime victory in 23 tries to lift her earnings to $418,355 for owners Purple Haze Stables LLC and M3 Racing Stable. As the 8-1 fourth choice in the wagering, she returned $18.80.
Miracle Maven’s walk in the park in the second division featured fractions of :28.4, :57.1 and 1:26.3 in the field of six. She then produced a final-quarter sprint of :27.3 to seal the deal by 1-1/2 lengths over 35-1 longest-shot-on-the-board Bourbonista S (Dexter Dunn) in 1:54.1. Conversano (Scott Zeron), the 2025 Hambletonian Oaks champion, finished third.
“I thought she was much better last week (when a close-up second to Bravo Angel S in her seasonal debut),” said Gingras. “But she got the job done. She’s a nice mare.”
A four-year-old daughter of Dont Letem-Bad Babysitter who is trained by Ron Burke, Miracle Maven recorded her 14th career win from 25 starts, good for earnings of $764,450. She is one-for-two this year for owners Hillside Stables, Indiana Stables LLC, Frank Baldachino and Beasty LLC. As the 1-5 favourite, she returned $2.60 to win.
Gingras, Dunn and Jason Bartlett tied atop the driver leaderboard with three victories apiece on the night.
John Skladany made a $200 win bet on Trillion Times in the 15th race, and when the horse won and paid $8.20, that vaulted Skladany to the top of the standings in the $1,000 USD Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest. Skladany finished with a bankroll of $1,031, well clear of second-place finisher James Molina, who ended the night with $800. The duo have now each earned a spot in the Dec. 12 contest finale, which offers a prize pool of $10,000 USD.
All-source wagering on the 15-race program totalled $2,557,791. Racing resumes Friday at 6:35 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)